The Cherry Tree

I found a treasure buried
beneath the dying tree
In that backyard orchard
that still haunts me

I was too young to know
what deciduous was
and I was ignorant to what
cutting the roots does

But I dug around them
and I cut into them
Those difficult roots
that fed the stem—

The stem of a beauty
I’m determined to know
I dug up that treasure
that was buried below

I held on to that treasure
and I hid its display
From everyone I knew
who would take it away.

I hoarded the thing
long after the tree died
And kept what someone else
was determined to hide

But I gave it away
and committed my life
To a darling young belle
who became my wife

She prized it like me
but she didn’t understand
The incredible value
of something so grand

I loved her in excess
but I loved it as well
So I changed my mind
about the darling young belle

Now a cherry tree grows
in the same fertile ground
Where the old tree died
and the treasure was found

So I buried her there
where the cherry tree stands
And she became the treasure
I once held in my hands